Ruby sat on the branches as rain began pouring all around.
"*Sigh*Looks like things are getting bad. Of course they are."
"My, oh, my." The voice of Lewis exclaimed, startling her. She turned, seeing 'Lewis' approaching her.
"What's going on now?"
"Simply put, your team came up with a very bold plan."
"To stop the cat?"
"No. To get to you."
"But, you said you'd tell them~"
"That was my original plan. Inform them to stop the cat, then I'd return you to them. However, if they go through with their plan…well, what do you say? Kill two birds with one stone?"
Yang's brain was frozen. Despite being blasted by the cat, and seeing Neo possessed, her brain was on repeat.
How could I have missed this?
Why did I miss this?
Ruby didn't need to do this alone.
I promised her I'd always be there to protect her.
And yet, Ruby drank the tea.
Ruby fell.
Ruby killed herself.
How could I have missed this?
On loop, those thoughts went faster and faster. Until eventually~
The scream Yang sent out would've terrified even the most iron willed people. It made the reality of the situation finally click for the others. As Yang ripped herself off of Blake's arm, she could hear Weiss retch, falling to her knees. But none of that mattered right now.
All that mattered was getting to her sister, no matter what.
Yang fell to her knees in front of the hole that Ruby once stood on, and began ripping the branches.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
Yangs' hair was on fire as she would grab chunks of branches, ripping them with ease.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
But, with each branch she tore off, another seemed to take its place. Tears fell off her in droves, the futility of it slowly creeping in.
"GIVE ME BACK MY SISTER!"
"Yang!" Blake tried to console, gently grabbing Yang's arm. Yang shoved her off.
"SHE'S MY LITTLE SISTER, YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!"
"Yang!" Blake attempted again.
"GET OFF ME!" Yang didn't even register who said that. Only that her sister needed her, and someone was holding her arm from helping Ruby.
"Yang, please!"
Yang, blinded by grief, turned and elbowed Blake in the cheek, sending her to the ground. Blake fell to the ground, eyes in horror and shock. Yang's eyes were redder than they have ever been in her life, and she had a look of pure rage.
However, upon seeing who she hit, Yang's hair simmered. Yang's eyes turned to sorrow before she turned back to the branches, and collapsed on her knees. In rage, she began punching the branches with her left arm, firing Ember Celica into them with each slam. She didn't even think to engage her Aura, so, by the time she ran out of ammo, her knuckles were bloodied.
"Please…" Yang whimpered, her hands gripping the branches, but not having the strength to rip them off, "Please…just give my baby sister back."
Blake got up and knelt beside Yang. For an instant, she hesitated, but then tightly hugged Yang. Yang at least had the mindset to now engage her Aura, so her knuckles were slowly healing.
"Just give my sister back."
"Guys," Blake stated, "What do we do?"
"I…I…," Weiss, tears falling to the bile on the floor.
Jaune tightened his grip on Crocea. He knew what to say, but he hated that it needed to be said. Tears falling, he felt Juniper nudge his back in comfort.
"We…," Jaune placed a hand on Juniper, "We need to stop the Cat."
"What?!" Yang replied, a mixer of shock and fury.
"If that cat gets to Remnant, it's game over for everyone. I doubt even Salem could stop him."
"Fuck the cat! I'm not leaving here without Ruby!"
"Yang, if he gets back home!"
"FUCK HOME! If I can't go home without my sister, then it can BURN FOR ALL I CARE!"
Blake and Weiss were horrified at Yang's words. They knew she didn't mean it, but also understood where she was coming from. After all, neither of them intended to leave without Ruby.
"So what are we going to do?!" Jaune angrily questioned. In response, Yang's hair began to glow again, and she got up.
"Why are you asking me?! After all, you knew the cat was evil. So you obviously know how to fight him."
As the two argued, Blake attempted to calm them down. However, Weiss also stared at the spot Ruby once was.
I was her partner. I promise to be the best partner. And I couldn't even tell when my best friend was hurting. I'm the worst partner in history.
Her eyes rested on the tea cup, that Brother's damned tea cup. However, her eyes then turned to table…and the tea cups on it.
Ruby drank the tea. The tea had a leaf from the tree. The leaves from the tree cause you to ascend.
Weiss ran to the table, and did a mental count. Six tea cups. More than enough.
Yang and Jaune's argument reached a fever pitch, as Yang grabbed Jaune by the scruff of his neck, and slammed him against the wall.
"I know how to get to Ruby." Weiss calmly stated, though the hitch in her voice betrayed the desperation and fear.
"How?!" Yang replied, her grip on Jaune not relenting. When Weiss turned around, holding a tea cup, Yang dropped him on reflex.
Weiss looked up from the cup. "We ascend. We drink the tea, and follow Ruby."
Jaune was up in an instant, and moved infront of the bees. "No! I told you before, that tree~"
"Jaune," Weiss yelled out, "Do you know anything about ascension? Have you ever gone through it?"
"No, but…you aren't the same when you come back out."
"And you think ANY of us are going to be the same ever again, after what Ruby just did?! Ruby~" Weiss choked on her words, "Ruby gave me a reason to live again. Winter, Whitley, I'd survive for them, but Ruby…I'd want to thrive for her. To let her know that all her work wasn't for nothing."
Everyone silently agreed with Weiss's sentiment.
Yang's eyes stared at the cup, before she started stomping over. "Give me the cup. I'm going after her, damn what you think, Jaune."
Weiss put a hand up. "No. She's our leader. If we do this, we do it together."
"Guys," Jaune said, almost defeatingly, "Even if we did this, where are we going to find more leaves? We can't just wait for the tree to drop them."
"The Herbalist!" Blake cried out, "He was raking leaves around his home. And he used the leaves to puff smoke at us. He has to have more leaves."
Jaune, relenting to the situation, mounted Juniper. "Juniper and I know a few shortcuts, we can get there in no time."
Weiss summoned a glyph, placing all the tea cups on a tray, and then placing that tray into a bubble. Summoning a Nevermore, WBY mounted the bird, and all four sprinted out of the building, not bothering to watch it collapse behind them.
Sure enough, they made it to the Herbalist's shack in record time, WBY landing just as Jaune dismounted. Not wasting any time, and not understanding how Ever After doors worked, Yang simply blew a hole in the wall, and they all ran inside. Weiss placed the tray on a table as Blake and Yang ran outside, looking for leaves.
"Okay," Jaune said, looking over books, "Is there any specific way we need to blend it? Maybe crush it into paste, or something?"
"No, I saw the tea cup Ruby used. The leaf was just in the tea cup, likely touching the tea itself."
The bees came running in, each with arms full of leaves. Dropping them on the ground, Weiss walked over, the tray now only having four tea cups, and placed a leaf in each one. A small rainbow explosion came off of each cup, the leaves just floating above the liquid.
"It's~It's done, I think."
"So," Jaune added, a hitch in his voice, "We're actually doing this."
"I'm going after Ruby," Yang growled, "I couldn't face dad or Qrow if I came back without her. Even if she isn't dead, but remade, she wouldn't be Ruby. And I refuse to lose her, after I failed so, so much."
"I…" Blake began, tears staining her cheeks, "I think we all saw that Ruby was hurting. But, I tried so hard to just get us back, thinking that we could talk about it back home. If I had known…" Yang wrapped her arm around Blake, both in comfort and in a silent apology to what she did earlier.
"I told Ruby that I'd be the best partner she ever knew. Yet I couldn't even be a good teammate. Ruby taught me what it means to be a Huntress. If I don't help her now, then what good am I?"
Jaune looked at the three, tears now falling down. "I know I shouldn't have said what I said. If I didn't, then, maybe…" Jaune's left hand actually started bleeding, as he tightened his grip, "Let me say goodbye to Juniper, first."
The three nodded. It felt cruel to give an animal a cup to drink, especially if…they were wrong.
Jaune walked outside, putting his hand on Juniper's muzzle.
"It's time for me to go, girl."
Juniper nuzzled Jaune's cheek, a sad look in her eyes.
"Ruby needs me, needs her friends. I…" Jaune choked on his words, "I don't want to die. But, if I don't try, then I might as well have put the sword into her myself. Thank you, for everything."
Returning inside the hut, WBY each put a hand on Jaune in comfort.
"This isn't the end, Jaune," Weiss stated, "Ascension isn't death."
"Worst comes to worst," Blake added, "And we do get remade, we're going to tell Ruby how much her life meant to us before then."
"And how we all see her," Yang finished, "Unlike she sees herself."
Taking a long, deep breath, Jaune nodded, "Okay. For Ruby."
WBY and Jaune each picked up a cup.
"For Ruby." WBY repeated.
At once, all four drank it.
The effects were immediate. The four fell light in the head, as the ground opened up beneath them.
Outside, Juniper watched as Jaune fell. She laid on the ground outside, closing her eyes. If you looked closely, you could almost see a smile on Juniper. Then the ground opened beneath her.
Author's Notes: Surprise, this is becoming a three-shot (don't know if that's a thing). I got a bout of inspiration, and decided I will add two more chapters to this story. This one obviously involved the immediate aftermath of Ruby's 'death'. Next chapter will involve several theories, which will likely either be confirmed or debunked by next episode, as that chapter won't drop until afterwards (no particular reason, just not going to be able to write it until afterward time wise).
As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.